TRENT OPALOCH

Career: Grew up along
the coast of Lake Superior in Thunder Bay, Canada. Got
his first taste of cinematography by assisting in his
early teens for his step father, Nature Cinematographer
Doug Steele. 'I
didn't enjoy it because there was nothing cinematic
about it. It was just chasing animals around in
the wild. I'd be out in the woods for days, and I just
wanted to hang out with my friends and play in bands.'

Attended
a two-year filmmaking program at Confederation College, setting his sights on editing.
Gradually, though, he became a go-to cinematographer for
student films. 'I moved to Vancouver after I graduated
and tried to get into postproduction, but there were
just no opportunities, so I bummed around as a c.asst and
shot casting sessions for eight mind-numbing months - anything to pay the
bills.'

An after-school practicum at Clairmont Camera in
Vancouver led to a job there. [The company] allowed him to use gear to shoot shorts,
music videos and fake commercials. They started out
lending him Eyemo's and Arri 2-C's, and when those came
back in one piece, they provided Arri 35-3's. 'Monday
through Friday I'd be on the floor with professional
camera crews and getting advice from them, and then
I'd shoot on Saturdays and Sundays,' Opaloch
recalls. 'That was a neat way for me to find my legs.' [From
an article by Douglas Bankston in 'American Cinematographer', September
2013.]